Bound
by AriannaInsomnia
Summary: Captured, literally bound. Then reconditioned, and bound to serve. What would you do if everyone you loved and lived for were stolen away from you? {This story is gonna be a slow, slow burn between my two main characters, Ondolemar's fine ass & my beautiful, Nordic OFC Annalisse}. PLEASE COMMENT AND/OR VOTE! It completes me, bwahahah!
1. One

_Bound-One_

_ Why did this happen to us?_

_ Why have the gods forsaken us?_

Frenzied thoughts raced around the Nord's mind as she sat in the back of an unfamiliar carriage, hands bound together rather tightly. There was one other female captive, a petite dark elf with blood-red eyes and hair as black as a starless night sky. Besides the two Altmer guards that were sitting at the very back of the carriage, eyeing them with contempt, there was one other man among them, a young Imperial. He must have been saying more than the elves cared to hear because he'd been gagged as well as bound, hands wrenched behind his back instead of in front like the other two.

_I can't believe this is really happening! How could we let this happen?_

She thought of her family, her ma and pa and little brother who took more after her than anybody else; they were all her very heart and soul, and she burst out crying after finally processing and accepting the fact that they all now lay dead back in their ran-sacked village. Unfortunately, she gained everyone's attention, her cries were so loud. The look of pain on the Nord woman's face broke the Imperial's heart. Neither of the two guards said anything to her, which she was very grateful for even though she still now hated all of them with a burning passion for what they had done.

"Everything will be okay, Sera," the Dunmer told her, her soft voice still sounding hopeful despite their dire situation.

The Nord turned towards her friend, tears rolling freely down her cheeks as she choked out: "How..canyou..say that?"

"Because we mustn't give up hope, Annalisse," the elf told her. "Things are terrible right now, but still we mustn't give up hope, not when it's all that we may have left in this moment."

"Listen to your wise friend and do not fret, little human," the guard with long white hair and narrow, deceptive eyes finally spoke up. "No harm shall befall you or your friends, so long as you do as you're told."

Annalisse stared at him for a number of seconds, searching his face. He was very calm and collected for someone who'd just participated in the mass murder of innocent people. Her people. Fresh tears began streaming down her cheeks and she quickly looked away from the murderer. He did not deserve to see her suffering.

After about another hour or so the came to a huge building surrounded by a tall, sturdy fence. Thankfully the snow had let up some, but it was still freezing outside and all three captives were pretty much in their sleepwear. Like cowards, the damned Thalmor had come and attacked during the night.

"Come along," the other guard said to them. All of them followed the two mer, albeit a bit unsteadily, off of the carriage and through the gates of what they were promptly informed was the Thalmor Embassy. The guards walked behind them through the snow, hands poised with magic and ready to strike should any of them try to run. The Imperial was in front, followed by the dark elf and then the Nord. The guard with long, white hair noticed that she seemed to be the most timid of the three. And rather beautiful, for a human, and especially a Nord at that.

As they neared the entrance, two other guards posted there opened the doors for them. Annalisse didn't even look at them. She was still slightly in shock over the loss of her people, and her thoughts were back with their cold, cold bodies right now.

They hadn't even allowed them to bury their dead.

Her watery blue eyes stayed trained on her bound hands until they had all passed the threshold and the doors were closed behind them, sealing off the freezing wind.

"Welcome," came a grating and condescending voice from above them. They looked up to see a stern-looking Altmer female with blond hair, yellow eyes and golden skin walking gracefully down a staircase towards them. Her hair was slicked back from her face and she was dressed in Justiciar robes. Her tone held no warmth, only indifference, and her gaze was as cold as the storm outside.

She stopped several feet in front of them and addressed one of her lackies: "Status report, Larendil?"

The guard with the shorter hair stepped forward. "We wiped out the targeted village with relative ease, Madame. It wasn't there, unfortunately, but we did manage to secure these three as captives. The male was rather riled up and shall be sent to the interrogation chambers. However, the females seem docile enough for servitude here on the grounds."

Alandrin, the Imperial, immediately began shouting at them through his gag and was quickly hit in the back with a Paralyze spell by the long-haired guard. He seized up and hit the floor with a loud thud.

"Thank you, Arendol," the female Altmer said. "Now listen closely because I shall only say this to you all once: You three are now the property of the Thalmor. My name is Elenwen, but you may call me Madame High Justiciar. You shall henceforth serve the Thalmor in any way that I see fit, and if you try to resist or escape, you will be very painfully put to death."

Neither woman dared say anything. They were both shocked, repulsed, but also frozen in fear.

Alandrin began to stir on the floor, moaning in pain, and was again hit with another Paralyze spell, this one cast by Elenwen herself, as if to prove her might.

"Larendil, take him away," she commanded. "Let's see just what our new friend knows."

The high elf did as he was told, dragging the smaller man to his feet and pretty much carrying him off through a doorway. A shard of fear sliced through Annalisse's heart. She'd known Alan since childhood and couldn't bare the thought of anything bad happening to him. He could be rowdy, but was a pure soul and also one of the only two people she had left. _I cannot lose him, too!_

"Please, don't hurt him," she cried out, immediately gaining Elenwen's attention.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" the Altmer said, stepping toward her.

Annalisse stiffened in fear, but did not back down; it wasn't in her nature. "I said, please don't hurt him. He hasn't done anything to any of you!"

In a mere second the tall elf cleared the remaining distance between them and struck Annalisse across the face, very hard, and with her own features twisted in rage. The recoil was so strong, Arendol had to grab her shoulders to keep her from falling in the floor. She despised his tight grip on her, but was also admittedly grateful for it.

"Do not ever speak out of turn to me again!" Elenwen berated her. "If I want your petty opinions, I shall ask. Until then I advise that you keep your pretty little mouth shut. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Annalisse responded, holding a hand against her throbbing cheek.

"Smart girl," Elenwen cooed before backing away. "Show these two to the servants' quarters and have Lanildria begin their training in the morning," she told Arendol before finally walking away.

Annalisse hadn't realized how close she was actually standing to her captor until now, so frozen in fear she'd been by his _Madame High Justiciar_. She quickly took a step away from him, and he allowed her to, letting go of her arms.

If their closeness had phased him any, he surely did not show it. Instead he eyed her for a few seconds, tilting his head slightly. She loathed herself for even thinking about it, but he was quite handsome. However, she began to feel like a fox being hunted by a hawk and had to break eye contact with him, feeling very uncomfortable with those harsh golden eyes of his peering into her soul.

"Follow me," he said to them. And they did, passing through a few doors and down some steps, into a depressing and dimly lit room with several single beds set up with only wooden partitions separating them.

"Your quarters," he announced, steeping aside to allow them through. "Have any bed you want. Another servant will be through shortly with some replenishments for you, so until then make yourselves at home. With that he finally left. They were alone in this new, awful and unfamiliar place.

Holding each other closely, they moved over and sank down on the nearest bed. Annalisse began weeping first, burying her face in her friend's warm chest. Sadena, the dunmer who usually wouldn't allow such contact, relented. And also cried, something else she'd normally never do, especially in front of someone else. It was simply a matter of pride.

But they had both lost so much, and in such a short amount of time. All they had now was each other. And the brave Alandrin, gods only knew what they were doing to him, and if he would survive alive and intact. Annalisse wept extra tears for him, because she was afraid that her earlier outburst may have already sealed his fate.

_Talos be with him, and protect him with every ounce of your might._

Unbeknownst to them, the Altmer guard Arendol had crept back into the room using a simple Invisibility spell, and was now spying on the grieving women. And he did not precisely know what drove him to do so, either. Their suffering did not bring him any sort of satisfaction. On the contrary, seeing these women in such distress actually made him feel…bad. And that intrigued him. He could feel their sadness as if it were his own. It was such a foreign feeling for him. He could not recall feeling sad since he was a child; a long, long time past.

And feeling this sadness led to feeling regret, an emotion he did not care for in the least. Especially since the very cause of their grief was partly his responsibility. It was such a small village they'd attacked that killing everyone hadn't been completely necessary; he knew that those villagers had posed no real threat to the Thalmor. And they hadn't been specifically ordered to slaughter them, only to locate this Amulet of Fate that Elenwen was so keen on finding, capture the Imperial for interrogation in case they were unable to locate said amulet and, if possible, secure a few suitable captives to be brought back and reconditioned as servants for the Embassy.

Larendil and Arendol had murdered the village of Talos worshippers simply because that was what they had been conditioned to do since childhood. Bloodshed ran in their veins and so it did not phase them.

And that was why these new feelings were so confusing and unwelcome, and why he was here now. He didn't know if he would find an answer, but still it intrigued him. How-ever, the two women only continued to weep and hold each other. The Nord was still gorgeous, even while crying her eyes out, although he thought he preferred her quivering in anticipa-tion before him, attentive and responsive.

After awhile both of them fell asleep so he snuck back out and hurried along with his duties. Later that night in bed, he pondered the days happenings again and was actually surprised to find himself wishing that the outcome could have been different.


	2. Two

Bound-Two

"I don't..I don't know what you're talking about!" Alandrin half-yelled, half-croaked out to these Aldmeri bastards for what seemed like the thousandth time. They were apparently searching for some enchanted piece of jewelry, an amulet of some kind that, despite them describing in full detail to him it's appearance, he had never seen or heard of before. Yet they still insisted he had it stashed away somewhere. _Stupid bloody elves!_

"We've tracked it all across Skyrim, all the way to your quaint little village, in fact," Larendil stated, charging up another spell.

Alandrin struggled against his constraints, but it was ultimately useless. They had shackled him to a cold stone wall, so tightly he could barely move an inch. He glared at his captors through his swollen and bruised eyes.

"Tell us where it is now, you wretch," Elenwen demanded.

"I don't know-AHHHHHHH!" He seized up as searing electricity fried every nerve in his body. The initial pain subsided slowly, but his muscles still spasmed all over, quite randomly. The dazed Imperial let his head fall forward as he felt himself drifting towards unconsciousness. Good, he'd either pass out or die soon. His heart ached at the thought of leaving Anna or Sadena behind, but at least this horrible turn of fate would be over for him.

_Talos, please keep me in your grace, and in your favor!_

"I have grown quite tired of your insolence," Larendil complained, and the Imperial heard him firing up another spell.

He did not even try to resist this time. Instead, he let his thoughts drift to his family. His mother had been all that he'd had left because of the war. But she was gone now, too, leaving him with just the feisty Sadena and the sweet Annalisse. _My sweet Annalisse._ Alandrin had always secretly been in love with the beautiful Nord, but had never worked up the courage to actually tell her, mainly from fear of rejection. And now, he'd never get the chance. What a fool he had been for all these years!

"Stop," Elenwen told her guard before stepping forward.

Larendil let the electricity crackling around his hand pitter out and stood up straight. "You have other uses for this one, Madame?"

"Perhaps," she replied. "But he is near death now." She placed her palms out flat and let them hover just an inch or so over his bare chest. A faint glow accompanied by the sounds of chimes and possibly the warmest and most contented feeling he'd ever felt suddenly enveloped him. But it only lasted a few seconds, unfortunately, and afterwards he almost felt as bad as before. Physically, at least. Mentally and emotionally, he was still an absolute wreck.

"Take him to the servants' chambers for now, but alert Arendol to keep an eye on them."

"Right away, Madame," the Aldmeri guard replied indifferently, moving over to unshackle the Imperial. Alandrin was pretty much unconscious, so the tall mer hoisted the other up over his shoulder and carried him off.

The High Justiciar stood there for a few moments more, thinking. Where was the sole item that would grant her long-standing wish for immortality? All of the information they'd gathered during the course of their search pointed to the Imperial.

_It has to be him!_

But even after enduring their proven information-extraction methods, the mortal still swore his innocence. She was inclined to believe him, as well, for she knew all too well by now the sound of someone put into such great agony that you would know there was no possible way they would lie to you again.

If not him, then who? Who possessed it? Their intel pointed them to that village, and that's the reason it now lay destroyed and desolate. But could it be possible that they had made a mistake?

Annalisse started awake at the sound of a heavy wooden door slowly creaking open. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to this overwhelming dimness, but once they had she swore her heart nearly skipped a beat. It was one of the Aldmeri guards from earlier, and he had Alandrin's body swung over his big shoulders. He was still alive!

The high elf bent over to dump the man on a nearby bed, more roughly than she cared for, before addressing Annalisse: "When he comes to he'll need plenty of water. You should see that he gets it." Then he left them, closing the door back behind himself.

She wasn't sure if he'd locked it and, in this moment, did not care very much. She got up out of bed, being careful not to wake Sadena. She was also careful not to accidentally sit down on her injured friend in this near-darkness.

When she sank down beside Alandrin and put a hand to his forehead to brush a few loose, dusty-colored strands aside, she discovered that he was very warm and had been sweating profusely. He had no shirt or shoes on now, only a pair of raggedy trousers that were currenlt soaked through. And the Thalmor had every intention of just leaving the poor guy like that all night, or perhaps who knew for how long?

By the Nine Divines' most tactful teachings and blessings, the three of them were really going to have to watch out for each other!

Her friend's smooth, handsome features were now battered and bruised, eyes mostly swollen shut and lip busted. She also noticed what looked like dagger cut wounds inflicted along his arms. _May the gods themselves damn them all, the inhuman monsters! _Just what all had they done to him? She actually felt afraid to learn the true answer to that question.

Annalisse thought about waking Sadena up so she could heal him; the Dunmer's restoration skill far surpassed her own, after all. But since they had all been through so much, she decided to just let both of them sleep for now.

With what small magicka resevres Annalisse did have, she mustered up as strong of a Heal Other spell for him as she could, then blasted him with times two that amount. Even though it completely drained her magicka for the moment it was totally worth it, and quite rewarding as she watched the bruises fade a little in their hue and the swelling go down a bit. She knew it wouldn't be enough to take all of his pain away when he did come to, but if it helped him even just the slightest little bit, it was worth it to her.

Sometime during her and Sadena's slumber earlier, someone had brought in a platter with smoked beef roast, some veggies, a few fruits and, most importantly, a very large pitcher of water for them. She still wasn't very hungry yet, but could absolutely use a drink. After refilling one of the cups on the tray several times until she'd had her fill, she dampened a ripped-off portion of quilt and used it to wet Alan's forehead. The water was still nice and cool, so she hoped that it would help to bring down his body temperature.

She contentedly sat there for almost half an hour stroking his lovely tan skin with the wet cloth until he finally came around.

"It's ok now, Alan," she quickly assured him lest he start to panic. "You're here with Sadena and I, and we're safe for the moment, so don't fret!"

His eyes still darted around wildly beneath their swelling, observing all that he could. "Anna-Annalisse? Am I dreaming?" he croaked out, voice most likely damaged from screaming.

Again, rage flared inside of her on his behalf, but she was quickly able to reign it back in. He needed her right now, so she had to be the strong- level-headed one.

"No, you're not dreaming, sweetie," she said to him, offering a warm smile.

He started to weep, but also returned her smile with a small, timid one of his own. He reached up to stroke the soft skin of her cheek with a few trembling fingers, as if he was checking for himself to make sure that she was really real.

The Nord leaned into his touch and gave him a friendly, reassuring smile. "Shh, it's ok now, Alandrin; we're all here, together, and it's gonna be ok."

His smile brightened. "Thank you, Anna. I can always look towards you to help cheer me up."

"Well, you know that I can't stand to see you upset," she replied.

"You're too good a friend to me, my dear." He took one of her hands and brought it up to his mouth to plant a kiss against her fingers. "Truly, you're one of a kind, Anna, and I thank the gods I'm fortunate enough to have you in my life."

Annalisse felt very touched by his words, but also a bit surprised. He'd never opened up to her like this before and, admittedly, she was quite taken aback.

"Thank you for such kind words, Alan!" She replied, letting go of his hand so she could go get a little more water. "I do appreciate your thinking so highly of me. And I thank Talos for you, too!"

"He saved me, Anna," Alandrin exclaimed suddenly. "I prayed to him, and he took mercy on me! Our mighty Divine saved my life by making them stop!"

His outburst woke up the Dunmer. Annalisse looked over at her and said: "He's alive!"

"Oh, thank Lady Azura!" She replied, stretching and then getting up to come stand in front of them. "So, how are you feeling, Alandrin?"

The Imperial sat up in bed and the Nord moved over to give him more room. "I feel like I got tossed back and forth between two frost trolls." Annalisse winced at the thought of those bastards torturing her friend, and also decided that she'd rather not know exactly what they'd done to him, even though it made her feel kind of selfish.

"That bad, huh?" Sadena chuckled lightly, trying to cut through the tension in the air. Because of where they now were, though, that was nearly impossible.

Alandrin smirked at her. "You have no idea."

"I'm so sorry," Annalisse told him, leaning her head (gently) against his shoulder. He took her hand in his and reveled in her closeness, and in the fact that he was actually still alive and here with her and Sadena, his dearest friends. He would cherish this moment for the rest of his days.

"As long as I have you two, I think I'll be ok no matter what," he told them. "I know I never say it often enough, but I love you both, very dearly."

Both women smiled at him with swelled hearts.

"We love you, too," Annalise replied for the both of them, because she knew that Sadena and affection didn't really go together. The dark elf wasn't mean or uncaring, just very, very traditional and very private. She leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. "That's from the both of us. Right, Sadena?"

The elf nodded enthusiastically, humoring her friend. "Indeed, Sera."

The Imperial laughed and gazed at the Nord with love and longing in his brown eyes. The Dunmer was very perceptive and so had figured out a long time ago that he was in love with Anna, maybe even before he fully knew it, himself. He told on himself in the way that he looked at her, talked to her, but most of all, the way he touched her, like she'd float away if he didn't hold onto her for long enough, but just as easily shatter to pieces if he grasped to hard.

But he didn't know that she knew. And of course, somehow, maybe perhaps by sheer force of will and the fear of ruining their friendship, Anna still seemed to be oblivious, too.

Shaking her head, Sadena realized that she was wasting time and quickly got back to the task at hand. She double-cast a Magelight spell toward the ceiling right above them and the room was immediately illuminated. Now she could properly see to inspect his wounds. Both women noticed that they had originally appeared much worse in the dim light. _Thank the gods!_

"Can you stand?" The Dunmer asked him, offering her hand.

Alandrin took hold and got to his feet, swaying only slightly. "Thank you,"

"Don't mention it," she told him. "Now, stand still and I shall heal you to the best of my abilities."

The Imperial did as she asked, actually looking forward to the feeling that warm, cozy sensation again. His friend's spell didn't seem quite as powerful as their captor's, but it was still strong and lasted a hell of a lot longer. Her experienced hands roamed over his body till she was sure she had covered everything.

"I feel so much better now, Sadena," he exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. She allowed it for all of about three seconds before beginning to squirm in silent protest. He let her go and stepped back. "Thank you so much! Your skill is quite amazing." He felt his face, especially round his eyes and mouth. "I was almost certain they'd broken something,"

The dark elf accepted his gratitude with a smile and simple nod of her head. "Yes, well, like I said before, don't mention it, Alan." She went back over and sat down on the bed her and the Nord had shared. "I need to rest, now. I'm afraid that was a bit taxing for me."

"Would you like any food or water before you retire, dear?" Annalisse asked her, going over to get a cup for her own self.

"Not right now," Sadena replied, laying down on her side facing the bed that Alandrin had just sank back down on. "Maybe later, Anna."

"Okay. What about you, Alan? Would you like anything?"

"Just some water for now, thanks. My stomach is still in knots,"

The tall brunette found two empty tankards on a nearby shelf and filled them both up from the pitcher. Then she handed him his before sitting back down on the bed beside him. "Tell me about it," she muttered, mostly to herself.

Her Imperial friend drank his water down surprisingly fast, then got up to go refill his cup. She couldn't blame him, after what he'd been through. His body had probably become very dehydrated after their cruel torture session. She couldn't get upset with him, even if he drank the entire pitcher. However, after about four refills he'd seemed to have his fill for now.

Annalisse watched him closely, looking for any signs of distress. He seemed to be alright, but still him even just being out of bed right now made her worry. Sadena had patched him up pretty damn well, but he still needed to rest. "Please, come back over here with me and sit," she requested. "I don't want you to pass out and fall or something."

Alandrin gave her a warm smile; he loved to hear her fret over him, although she hadn't the slightest clue and he intended on keeping it that way. "Just a moment, Anna." He walked over to the other side of the room from where the women were currently resting, where he utilized the rudimentary facilities their slave masters had set up to relieve himself. Then he splashed water on his face and washed his hands in the washbasin. He spotted an outfit laying on a nearby dresser-top and picked up the ordinary shirt and trousers to change into. Now, he at least felt a little bit more like an actual person.

When he returned he found Annalisse laying on her side, eyes closed. He sat down beside her and laid a hand on her head, brushing her dark hair out of her pale face. She opened her sleepy eyes to look up at him. "May I sleep here with you tonight, Alan?"

He kissed her on the side of the forehead before laying down beside her. "Of course you can." She grinned and snuggled up close to him, resting her head on his chest and curling a leg around his. Even though it was really hard, he tried to let all that'd happened fall away from his mind, focusing instead on the amount of warmth coming from the body he held in his arms, on how great she felt pressed so close against him and how comforted her presence made him feel in general. No matter where they wandered, Annalisse would always be home for him.


End file.
